Rights group probes arrests of Tennessee school children

(Reuters) - A civil rights group said on Thursday it has launched an investigation into the arrests of several Tennessee school children aged six to 11 in connection with an off-campus fight.

The non-profit Southern Poverty Law Center said on Twitter it was investigating the arrest and handcuffing of the children at Hobgood Elementary School in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on Friday, for failing to stop the fight involving other children. Murfreesboro is about 35 miles southeast of Nashville.

The Tennesseean newspaper said the arrests happened after police saw a video of the incident, in which students are accused of standing by and watching the fight instead of breaking it up.

The Murfreesboro Police Department on Thursday confirmed the arrests, but declined to provide details, citing state law that prohibits revealing the specifics of juvenile arrests.

The Tennesseean reported that 10 students from the elementary school were arrested and charged with criminal responsibility for the conduct of another. The newspaper said at least 5 of the 10 students involved were black.

It was not possible to contact the families of the children involved as they have not been identified.

The arrests gained national attention and sparked criticism of the police, who met with community residents on Sunday. The police in a Tuesday statement acknowledged the concern of residents and promised to conduct an internal review of the incident.

"The department is committed to assuring that its officers consistently use good judgment and act in accordance with policy. If we need to make changes or address issues internally we will identify any issue and act accordingly," Police Chief Karl Durr said in the statement.

Durr also said he would meet with a coalition of Murfreesboro pastors to review recommendations after that internal review.

The Southern Poverty Law Center's legal director, Rhonda Brownstein, in a Wednesday statement called the arrests "appalling."

"This appears to be yet another example of the over-policing of school children," she said. "It is simply not OK to arrest and handcuff such young children."

Tennessee lawmakers this week called for an investigation of the arrests. A spokesman for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said they have not received a request to investigate from the local district attorney general, which would lead the bureau to look into the matter.

(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales, Editing by Ben Klayman and Andrew Hay)